DryShips drilling subsidiary wins contract

DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ:DRYS) said today that its fully-owned subsidiary Ocean Rig UDW, Inc. has received a letter of award from an American exploration company for a four well contract for exploration drilling offshore West Africa for a period of about 300 days, commencing in the first or second quarter of 2011.

The contract is subject to final documentation and is worth approximately $135 million.

"We are pleased to secure employment for one of our first two drillships that will be delivered from Samsung during the first quarter 2011. This will serve as a catalyst to securing bank financing on preferred terms. We continue to see strong interest for our state of the art sixth generation drillships operated by our experienced ultra-deepwater operator Ocean Rig."